She’d make a good poster girl for the effort

It seems that we’re starting to see some pushback on the Administration’s ecological parties even in the bastions of right-wing support like the beef industry. Then again, anyone who relies on nature to turn a profit would have to be insane or extremely short-sighted to support any of Bush’s environmental policies.

On the eve of hearings on six of the 11 coal-burning power plants that TXU wants to build in a hurry across the state, a judge in Austin ruled that Governor Rick Perry never had the authority to fast-track permits for the new plants in the first place.

It is unclear whether Goliath will stay dead. But at a rally of nearly 1,000 opponents of the TXU plan at the Waco Convention Center Tuesday night, a local rancher who filed the lawsuit that led to the temporary injunction got a long standing ovation.

“Here we are, a little old group from Riesel, Texas, and we sued the Governor and won,” said the rancher, Robert Cervenka. If the new plants were built, “I’d have four right around my house.” They would also double CO2 emissions in Texas, which already emits more of the greenhouse gas than any other state in the country.

Why mortage the future health of your chhildren to save some money, anyway? We’re not just talking about CO2 in a global-warming debate here, we’re talking about sulphur, mercury, and other serious pollutants as well.